Clear Health

A digital solution offering guidance to novice fitness enthusiasts and simplifying their nutritional supplement purchase experience.

Problem

Novice fitness enthusiasts frequently face difficulties when purchasing nutritional supplements.

Solution

A digital platform that offers valuable information and guidance on nutritional supplements.

Impact

An enhanced user experience that empowers individuals to confidently select and purchase the nutritional products best suited to their needs.

Context

There has been a marked increase in the popularity of nutritional supplements especially through e-commerce. However, this can be quite overwhelming for those who are new to fitness and don't know much about the available nutritional products and other supplements. This lack of knowledge creates obstacles for both consumers and sellers, leading to missed sales opportunities. To tackle this issue, the project aims to develop a streamlined customer experience through a digital product that simplifies the supplement purchasing journey for novices. By doing so, the solution aims to remove barriers for consumers, making the nutritional supplement purchase more informative, accessible, and user-friendly.

Scope

The project aims to provide a simplified and intuitive nutritional supplement shopping journey for novice users. The objective is to lead users to appropriate supplements from different brands by providing them with comprehensive information and guidance. The project's goal is not limited to this specific product, and the user experience can be applied to other existing products in the nutritional supplement market. By leveraging technology, the project will empower novice users to make informed decisions by providing relevant information about the available products and their benefits. The end goal is to increase user satisfaction and retention, promote customer loyalty, and drive sales for supplement brands by providing an accessible and user-friendly platform that caters to the needs of novice users.

Research

Goal

  1. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the difficulties faced by beginners while purchasing nutritional supplements and the factors that influence their purchasing decisions.

  2. To understand their pain points, their decision making process, and the selection of products that simplifies their choices.

Process

  • Market Research: Identified key players and analyzed their mobile/web formats, user journeys, and app experience

  • Semi-structured interviews: with 5 participants who have had experience researching and buying nutritional supplements online. Experienced participants were chosen to be able to understand their journey from being novice buyers to fairly mature buyers of supplements.

  • Ethnography: The same 5 participants above were asked to take me through their purchase journey on a pre-decided website. This study gave insights about key decision making moments and a fair understanding of the journey.

  • Survey: 25 respondents were recruited and their responses to the survey gave insights about their generic understanding of supplements and products features that aid buying decisions

Research Analysis and Synthesis

Data Compilation (Interview + Survey)

Synthesis (Affinity Map, Thematic Analysis)

Feature Ideation (Addressing all Needs + Pains)

Feature Prioritization (Relevance, Impact, Feasibility)

Key Findings

Interview

  • Consumers extensively research supplements before buying. 4 out of 5 participants reported always researching supplements thoroughly before purchase, feeling responsible for what they put in their bodies.

  • Recommendations from trainers, nutritionists, or friends serve as the starting point for research. Participants' journeys begin with a recommendation from one of these sources, followed by personal research.

  • Novice consumers desire guidance and personalized attention. All 5 participants confirmed they would appreciate assistance from an expert to choose the right supplement product.

Survey

The survey collected responses from a diverse demographic. The results were only confirming of what was discovered during the interviews.

Personas

Busy Brian

Brian is a 25-year-old software engineer who is looking for a way to support his overall health and well-being despite his busy schedule. He wants to find supplements that can help him maintain his energy levels, reduce stress, and support his immune system. Brian is not familiar with the different types of supplements available or how they work, so he is looking for a website that can provide clear and simple information about each product. He values convenience and efficiency, and wants to be able to quickly find the supplements that meet his needs without having to spend a lot of time researching.

Health-Seeking Humaira

Humaira is a 30-year-old stay-at-home mom who has recently become interested in improving her health and fitness. She wants to find supplements that can help her lose weight, increase her energy, and support her digestion. Humaira is not familiar with the different brands or types of supplements available, so she is looking for a website that can provide guidance on selecting the right products for her needs. She values transparency and wants to be able to easily access information about the ingredients and effectiveness of each product.

Mature Meiyang

Meiyang is a 45-year-old woman who is looking to improve her health and mobility as she ages. She wants to find supplements that can help support her joint health, reduce inflammation, and boost her immune system. Meiyang is not very familiar with online shopping or with the different types of supplements available, so she is looking for a website that is user-friendly and easy to navigate. She values safety and wants to be able to easily find information about the safety and effectiveness of each product, especially in relation to her age and health concerns.

Features

Three main features were identified and prioritized for the digital product:

Shop by Health Goals:

This feature will enable users to shop for supplements based on their specific health goals, providing a more personalized and relevant shopping experience.

Information Section:

A dedicated page providing users with detailed information about nutritional supplements and their potential benefits will help to educate and inform users, reducing confusion and increasing trust in the product.

Guidance:

For users with little to no knowledge or experience in purchasing nutritional supplements, a guided experience providing personalized assistance and advice will improve the overall user experience and help to build trust in the product. By addressing the needs of novice users in this way, we can make nutritional supplements more accessible and appealing to a wider audience.

Design Concepts

Lo-fi Sketching and Product Naming

During the initial design phase, I employed various sketching techniques to generate and refine ideas for the application. The Crazy 8 method helped me to quickly generate a range of initial sketches, while the Detail Sketches method was used to refine specific features and create more detailed screens for the low-fidelity prototype. In the process of selecting a brand name, I conducted extensive research and gathered feedback from a range of stakeholders, including participants, friends, and family. Through this exploration process, I selected "Clear Health" as the brand name, which aligns with the application's focus on health and wellness and its goal of simplifying the supplement shopping experience for novice users. The name "Clear Health" conveys a positive and approachable image and emphasizes the application's commitment to providing clear, straightforward information about nutritional supplements.

Lo-fi Prototype

Based on the low-fidelity sketches, a prototype was developed to illustrate the different screens, layouts, and features expected to be included in the final product. The clickable prototype was intended to provide users with an opportunity to interact with the application and navigate through the various screens. To comprehend user behaviour and how they interact with different screens and features, usability testing was conducted on the prototype. The insights gleaned from this testing were employed to inform the design and development of the final product. The prototype was adjusted based on the findings of the usability testing to enhance the user experience before advancing to the high-fidelity prototype and development phase.

Hi-fi Prototype

The low-fidelity prototype was converted to a high-fidelity prototype by incorporating design elements such as colors, imagery, and components that align with the brand identity to create a cohesive and visually appealing user experience. The goal of this exercise was to simulate the final experience as closely as possible, allowing to test and validate the design and user experience through a usability testing exercise.

Usability Testing

Goals

  • To evaluate the overall usability of the product

  • To identify specific pain points related to accessibility and usability

  • To gain insights based on tasks given to the users

  • To gather first impressions on the overall look and feel of the product


5 users were recruited and recorder over Zoom for the usability test of Clear Health’s high fidelity prototype.


Key Insights

  • 60% of users had difficulty choosing the right product even after reading the articles

  • 60% of users thoroughly enjoyed the get guided quiz and felt like their doubts were cleared after receiving suggestions based on their answers

  • 40% of users felt that the get guided section could be far more accessible and should be a primary feature

Major Pain-Point:

Users were upset about the difficulty in reaching the get guided section which seemed to be their favourite feature of the product.

Design Iteration

Hypothesis
The “Get Guided” feature seems like the star of the entire experience. User’s like gamified experiences to help them make decisions. This feature needs to be brought to the forefront of the flow.

Improved Solution
A sticky button containing a link out to the “Get Guided” section will live on every page under the header. This will allow the user to reach the “Get Guided” section in a single click no matter where they are in the journey.

Old Design

New Iteration

Learnings and Impact

In the nutritional supplement market, it's essential to optimize the user journey for task assistance. Clear Health's goal is to empower users by guiding them through the process of understanding their health goals, providing clear and concise information on available supplements, and helping them purchase the right products. Many products are designed for mature users, ignoring the needs of novice users. Therefore, it's crucial to consider the needs of edge-case users by providing a seamless onboarding process, education, and error assistance. Prioritizing these edge-case users is key to long-term growth and user satisfaction. By focusing on providing a personalized and user-friendly supplement shopping experience, Clear Health aims to do one thing well. To further improve the product, we can conduct in-depth service design exercises and customer experience mapping.